Tag: Malwarebytes

I just cleaned up a computer, an Acer laptop, that had tons of spyware and among them was Trojan Horse Clicker. To get rid of it and the rest of the spyware I did the usual:

1.First I ran Combofix. (I did this in Safe Mode with Networking.)

To get into Safe Mode, I had to tap F8 as the computer booted. If you tap at just the right time, a list of options in black and white is displayed on your screen. If you get the usual Windows boot up, you’ve missed Safe Mode so you’ll have to restart and tap again.

Pick Safe Mode with Networking. Then you’ll see a message asking if you’re sure you want to go into Safe Mode or if you’d rather use System Restore. Click yes you do want to go into Safe Mode. In Safe Mode you can then download and run Combofix.

When you get to the page, you’ll have to scroll down. I usually pick the Bleeping Computer link.. you’ll have to scroll down. It looks like this.

This is a photo of the Bleeping Computer website where you download Combofix.

If you can’t download or run Combofix then you have very serious virus problems so see this post.

After I ran Combofix, enough spyware had been removed so that I could do the following in regular Windows mode.

2. Downloaded and installed AVG.

3. Downloaded and installed Malwarebytes.

4. Ran Malwarebytes. Malwarebytes caught quite a few Trojans. Also when I ran Malwarebytes, AVG’s residential shield caught a few more things that Malwarebytes going through the files seemed to stir up.

4. Ran a full scan of AVG. The AVG is what caught our friend Trojan Horse Clicker.

The other day I fixed a computer infected with Privacy Center. The name made me laugh since the privacy offered by this rogue program is like walking naked downtown and handing out your credit card numbers, e-mail address, and cell phone number at the same time. Malwarebytes cleaned it up quite easily. All you have to do is download, save, and run Malwarebytes. It should update automatically the first time you use it but after that you’ll need to click the Update tab manually to get the updated malware definitions. Run Malwarebytes once a week or more to protect yourself.

People often think that if they have an antivirus software such as Norton they are safe against malware. This is a dangerous misconception that creates a lot of work (and $!!!) for techies like Ms. Ducktoes.

Most anti-virus programs fight only viruses and provide very poor protection for the increasingly dangerous and sophisticated malware and spyware on the web.

It never hurts to have more than one antispyware. Thousands of malware and spyware are developed for the first time or re-versioned everyday (to elude detection) and no one antispyware can catch it all.

If you want real time, effective protection that just runs automatically on your computer without effort or knowledge on your part, then buy Spyware Doctor. Otherwise you need to run many antispyware and learn how to use them.

Below are the best ones for you to try:

MalwarebytesAntiMalware – Malwarebytes removes most malware quite effectively. Many techs now use it as their first defence against difficult spyware.

My son at university called and asked how he could remove some bad malware that his antivirus and anti-spyware couldn’t catch or remove. His computer was so bad he was thinking of reformating his drive. I told him to try Malwarebytes, and it fixed the problem.

I’ve used it against a bad case of Windows XP AntiVirus 2008. I had to use it in combination with other anti-spyware applications, but it did most of the work.

This is a feisty little program that got rid of some potent meanies on clients’ machines. I encountered it in my search to find effective anti-spyware solutions for some of the BAD malware out there. It seemed quite useful against Windows XP Antivirus 2008/2009. Dr. Web Cureit is created by a Russian company and is endorsed by the Ministry of the Defence of the Russian Federation. Now there’s an endorsement most antispywares can’t claim.